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LOT 0198
Byzantine Bronze Steelyard Weight of an Empress
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
3 3/4 in. (630 grams, 94 mm).
Filled with lead and formed as the upper body of an empress wearing a pleated palla, her hair arranged in loose curls around the face, suspension loop to the head.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Europe.
Acquired by the current owner in 1999.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00038155.
Cf. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York under accession number 67.154.1, for similar.
FootnotesThe choice of the image of the empress for an official weight may have been to display fairness and equality before the law in commercial matters, as well as to bolster the authority of the imperial family.
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AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine Bronze Cross Pendant Group
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Comprising three flat-section cross pendants, each decorated with ring-and-dot motifs. 9.18 grams total, 27-40 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
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Byzantine Lead Icon with St George
Circa 7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,404
Bifacial lead plaque with figurative decoration: obverse with Saint George, nimbate, on his horse killing a fallen foe with his spear; 'ΓΕΟΡΓ' label above the horse's neck, raised border with pellets and pellet clusters; reverse with relief pattern of a double circle decorated with double arcs forming a cross pellet to the centre. 48.8 grams, 64 mm
Private collection Mr S.A., Switzerland, before 1992, thence by descent.
According to the Christian tradition, Saint George would have lived between the end of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 4th century: born into a noble Christian family, he became an officer in the Roman army and was then named a prefect by Diocletian. But when the same emperor decided to resume the persecutions, Saint George became a victim despite his important political rank. His role in the development of the faith is so important that he is included among the Great Martyrs of the Eastern Church and his fight against the dragon becomes a symbol par excellence of the fight for Good which defeats Evil. In the Christian symbolism of the Middle Ages, the circle, a perfect geometric shape which has neither beginning nor end, designates the universe whose centre is the source and thus evokes Jesus. -
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Eagle
6th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Discoid bezel with intaglio profile eagle with head turned and wings raised. 5.55 grams, 25.49 mm overall, 19.85 x 15.30 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)
From the collection of a London antiquarian, formed since the 1980s.
